Goldfinger breaks race record in winning Eastcoaster

Goldfinger has won this year’s Melbourne to Hobart eastcoaster sailing race in record time after drawing an enormous lead over the rest of the fleet.

The Sandringham-based yacht, co-skippered by Peter Blake and Kate Mitchell, crossed the finish line in two days and eight minutes, shaving 51 minutes off the time the boat set in 2010.

When she crossed the finish line, at 12.38pm on Saturday, Goldfinger’s nearest challenger still had more than 100 nautical miles to finish the race.

Matrix and Dry White are locked in a battle to be second across the line, while Seven50 is in third place, just six nautical miles behind.

The first of the west-coaster fleet was expected on Saturday evening with Extasea in front, 44 nautical miles from Hobart, closely pursued by Tevate II and Cadibarra 8 in more favourable south-westerlies.

Far from revelling in their new record, Goldfinger skippers Peter Blake and Kate Mitchell were kicking themselves they’d failed to crack the two-day barrier by just over eight minutes.

"You always have a record in mind," Blake told reporters in Hobart.

"The record we really wanted to break was the 48-hour record.

"We missed that by about 10 minutes."

Mitchell said the 15-strong crew had enjoyed good sailing across Bass Strait on night one towards Flinders Island before hitting tough weather in southern Tasmania’s Storm Bay.

"It was just a really nice kite run doing really good speeds," she said.

"It was really yahoo baby sort of stuff, it was just fun. Storm Bay lived up to all expectations."

Blake and Mitchell boast 16 Sydney to Hobart races between them and, while likely to be back in the shorter race next year, haven’t ruled out a return to the bluewater classic.

"It’s a bit like having a baby," Mitchell said.

"After you’ve had it, you think I’ll never do that again and you forget.

"Halfway into the year you’re ready to go again."

Goldfinger also led the east-coasters on handicap, while Tevake II had the overall lead among the Westcoasters.

- with AAP

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